As the saying goes, "one person's trash is another's treasure." But what if you could turn your own trash into treasure? 

The r/crafts subreddit is the perfect place to show off creative, handcrafted items, including fascinating and inspirational repurposed projects. 

One Redditor transformed a basic shadowbox into a shelf for rocks and trinkets, aesthetically suiting it to its new purpose. 

For those unfamiliar with upcycling, it's a form of DIY recycling that involves taking an old and useless item and converting it into something useful, rather than tossing it in the trash. 

The obvious benefit is creating something uniquely your own, but there's more to it than that. When useless items end up in the trash, they will typically end up in a local landfill. This is an extensive problem globally, and particularly in the U.S. 

While this particular shadowbox might not be the biggest waste item, it still encourages others to reevaluate their trash. The U.S. alone generates 292.4 million tons of municipal waste per year, according to a 2018 figure from the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the EPA, "Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, accounting for approximately 14.4% of these emissions in 2022."

Methane is a planet-warming gas that is much more potent than carbon dioxide. With rising global temperatures increasing the length and severity of extreme weather events, anything we can do to keep items out of the trash will help. 

Of course, not everyone is into arts and crafts, but that still leaves recycling as the optimal alternative. 

Reducing waste can have a larger impact, but it starts with individuals.

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back 💰 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕 Making it as easy as possible ⚡ Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

One of the responses to the initial post framed it perfectly: "Set something aside that you are about to toss, recycle, or donate and decide to turn it into something else."

"Clever and inspiring," another Redditor commented. "I love upcycling projects." 

If there's a potential project sitting in a corner somewhere, now's the best time to get started.

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